.svg)
A Louisiana Senate committee held its first conversations about potentially adding online casinos to the state’s gaming portfolio on Wednesday (December 11), while the state’s top gaming regulator said more cease-and-desist letters are coming for unregulated operators.
The Pelican State currently features a wide variety of gaming options, including land-based and riverboat casinos, parimutuel wagering, video poker machines, and online sports betting in most of the state.
Senator Kirk Talbot filed a resolution earlier this year requesting a study by the Senate’s Judiciary B and Revenue and Fiscal Affairs committees to potentially add iGaming to the mix.
“I did this resolution just so we could … kind of see how this whole thing works,” Talbot said Wednesday. “I'm sure at some point down the road, there's going to be legislation that people are going to want to explore this.”
“It's going to come before our committee on some level, whether it's next year, the year after that, or whatever,” he continued. “We need a little education on what this does, what the impact is.”
That education came from a variety of industry stakeholders who spoke in favor of iGaming, including representatives from Boyd Gaming and Caesars Entertainment, who both operate land-based casino properties in the state.
“Our experience in New Jersey and Pennsylvania has shown that iGaming complements the brick-and-mortar business by engaging a new and different type of customer,” said Ashley Menou Center, director of governmental affairs for Boyd.
“iGaming attracts different customers than the land-based casinos,” she added. “Those players tend to be younger and prefer digital options for play. iGaming doesn't take players out of the brick-and-mortar casinos; it attracts new players to the market.”
“This state has been at the forefront of gaming in the last 20 to 30 years. You see [that] now it is one of the largest revenue producers in the state,” added Trevor Hayes, vice president of government relations for Caesars Digital. “In order to stay competitive and stay on that cutting edge, I think iGaming is the next step.”
However, not all Louisiana gaming companies are in lockstep on the issue.
During Wednesday's hearing, representatives of Cordish Companies, the Baltimore-based casino operator in the process of constructing a new casino in Bossier City in 2025, spoke in opposition of legalizing iGaming.
Mark Stewart, general counsel for Cordish, cited the state’s 2018 legislation permitting riverboat casinos to operate onshore as having spurred new development in the state’s casino industry.
“We submit that bringing iGaming to Louisiana would pull the rug out from under these projects and discourage additional land-based investment,” Stewart said.
Stewart also pushed back against potential competition arguments, pointing out that no state had legalized online casino games in 2024.
“This is not some massive trend that is unstoppable,” he said. “The promised easy tax revenue is a mirage when you dig into it, and the social costs, on the other hand, are very real and they're severe.”
Another key stakeholder who spoke in opposition was the Louisiana Video Gaming Association, which represents 40 percent of video poker locations in the state.
"Let me be very clear, this is the video pokers' Rubicon,” said Alton Ashy, a lobbyist representing the group. “We will die on this hill."
“There is nothing we are more opposed to, or more adamantly oppose, than online or internet gaming,” he said. “We see absolutely no benefit for the state.”
One of the arguments made by supporters of online casinos is attempting to cut down on an unregulated market that includes offshore operators as well as sweepstakes casino platforms, and several committee members questioned whether increased enforcement was a mechanism for doing so rather than legalizing iGaming.
Christopher Hebert, chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, said the board is ramping up its enforcement efforts.
“Louisiana is taking active steps by sending cease-and-desist letters to companies to immediately stop operating unlicensed online casinos in Louisiana,” Hebert said.
The state sent a cease-and-desist letter to offshore operator Bovada earlier this year, and after the company responded by withdrawing from the state, Hebert said that letter will not be the last.
“We have plans to send out upwards of 50 cease-and-desist letters to other companies, and that will be coming in short order,” Hebert said.
“The board's firm stance against such operations is aimed at protecting our citizens from unregulated gambling activities that violate our state laws. We take this very seriously and our efforts will be ongoing.”
